The way I see it, the last two Star Wars movies barely qualify as live action. Unless they're going to reverse that trend, I'd like to have someone in charge that understands how to use CG technology to enhance emotion, not bury it.

I get that people don't like the prequels, and with their bad writing and acting, they're not movies people should like. But speaking strictly of craft, and the ability to put together a coherent action scene, it's really absurd to put Lucas on the same level of Michael Bay or even lower. Bay is astonishingly bad at directing action, which is baffling for someone who only makes action films. There are basic fundamentals of visual storytelling that he doesn't even seem to be aware of, let alone adhere to. As I've said before, the action in the original Transformers looks like someone threw a camera into the center of a tornado going through a junkyard.

Action wasn't bad in Bad Boys 2 but I agree with what you're saying. Thing is, I enjoyed the Star Wars prequels just as much as I enjoy your typical Michael Bay movie. So in my brain all things are equal.

One of the best action moments in Transformers is when Starscream destroys all those F-22s. That scene was ruined however because he had the camera way too close to the action. If he had pulled back the camera, that would've been a great scene. But it was ruined because you couldn't see a goddamn thing.

*Imagines Episode VII featuring copious amounts of low-angle shots of Luke getting out of his land speeder in slow-motion, flanked by his wise-cracking, street-smart new droid R2-FU, who is constantly making jokes about uncle Owen and aunt Beru getting "totally baked" back in the day*

I liked The Island at the time, but I was clearly young and stupid, because it has not held up.

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I remember you liking this movie. Glad you finally came to your senses, heh.

The Island could have been good if it didn't go from being a sci-fi/mystery thriller to a non-stop barrage of mindless action at the halfway mark. I suspect the script had potential before Michael Bay decided to insert 45 minutes of shit getting blown up.

This means the midnight screening of Skyfall is tonight. And only in IMAX. That's fine.

The problem is, theaters are having midnight screening tomorrow night for the non-IMAX formats. So they're having midnight screenings of a film that's already been released. How does that make any sense?

And to top it off, the ****ing movie wasn't even shot in ****ing IMAX!

What about Guillermo Del Toro for Star Wars? He likes using practical effects. I think after the way the prequels turned out looking, the series could use a little bit of back-to-basics (for the lack of a better term) visual-direction. Plus, he's coming off a sci-fi/action flick. So there is his practice. And he was supposed to produce that new Haunted Mansion movie (which I am starting to feel is all but dead ) for Disney, so he already has some sort of relationship with the studio...

Whoever it turns out to be, I think they should only do one movie. If they are planning to make another trilogy, I would like to see three different directors. Now that Lucas is out of the picture, I say give as many people a shot at Star Wars as possible. You know it's a dream project for so many people out there. We could end up seeing some cool shit.

What about Guillermo Del Toro for Star Wars? He likes using practical effects. I think after the way the prequels turned out looking, the series could use a little bit of back-to-basics (for the lack of a better term) visual-direction.

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J.W. Rinzler said:

"They actually built more models at ILM for [Revenge of the Sith] than the original trilogy combined, including the giant Mustafa [sic] volcano landscape."

EDIT: I watched the documentary Within A Minute a few weeks ago, which is about the hundreds of people and man-hours it took to make one minute of footage of Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith, and all I could think was how much shit they could have done without, or at least toned down..

THIS FUCKING GAME. First impressions are that they improved on my favorite competitive shooter much more than I anticipated. The visuals are striking. The sound is crazy good. Explosions and gunfire feel so intense now. The new abilities and guns are retarded cool. I still don't even know what is happening around me some of the time, and I love it.

And I haven't even touched the campaign yet. This is the rare game where paying 60 dollars feels like a great deal.

I just realized that the link that was posted a few days ago (I think by you?) was only for Regal theaters and there is another theater right down the street from my apartment that is going to be showing The Hobbit in 48FPS! So that's exciting!

Skyfall is great. Still a little serious for Bond, but I've warmed up to that take on the franchise, and the movie does have it's fair share of fun. Javier Bardem really goes for it. Loved having that kind of exaggerated villain.

Just finished the Halo 4 campaign, and I can now safely add that alongside the multiplayer on the list of things 343 did NOT screw up, and in fact made really, really awesome. Amazing visuals and art design, great new weapons and enemies, great story, great pacing, great big fun, and as Risk said earlier, I really cared about the Chief and Cortana and what they were going through, and cared about how things were going to end for them as *characters*, not just whether or not they'd beat the bad guy and save the day. Just excellent all-round, it's everything you could want in a Halo campaign, now with even more awesome.

Fantastic multiplayer, fantastic campaign, and I've now got no doubt that Spartan Ops will be awesome as well. I was a little worried about some of the things I'd been hearing up to release, but 343 have really delivered, and (especially since I came to Halo late) I'm very glad the fight's not quite finished yet.

THIS ******* GAME. First impressions are that they improved on my favorite competitive shooter much more than I anticipated. The visuals are striking. The sound is crazy good. Explosions and gunfire feel so intense now. The new abilities and guns are retarded cool. I still don't even know what is happening around me some of the time, and I love it.

And I haven't even touched the campaign yet. This is the rare game where paying 60 dollars feels like a great deal.

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The first thing you notice are the visuals but the thing I'm mostly impressed with is the sound. Every time Master Chief dies you hear the armor hitting the floor and you totally believe it is happening. That coupled with the vehicles and weapons is music to my ears.

The first thing you notice are the visuals but the thing I'm mostly impressed with is the sound. Every time Master Chief dies you hear the armor hitting the floor and you totally believe it is happening. That coupled with the vehicles and weapons is music to my ears.

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I couldn't agree more. The sound is very impressive. Last night I had to turn down the volume after awhile because I was worried my neighbor would think that World War III broke out.

This is great to hear. I'm still going to try and get it for Christmas, but now I'm excited to play it even more. Do you think you and Risk will still be playing it around then? I would like to join in the giving randomers the boot of justice.